ethical consumer

Last week, I attended the Home & Gift Buyers’ Festival in Harrogate. It’s a huge event, made up of many producers and even more retailers looking to add new lines to their sites, stores and stalls in the autumn.

As with previous events trade events I’ve attended, my goal was to seek out those makers with an eco, ethical or sustainable tale to tell. I thus set off on the organised ‘Eco Trail’ but I was defeated by the size of the show, covering only around two-thirds of it.

Even so, I met some awesome brands that I’m excited to tell you about!

Did you know that 4.3 million people die every year from indoor air pollution? It was this statistic which inspired the creators of the Light Me Bio-Oil Candle to create their product. Their alternative maintains the ambience of regular candles but are clean burning, without the soot and melted wax. They also self-extinguish if knocked over.

For almost twenty years, Melt have been making hand-poured candles with scents that differ from the usual perfumed options. From Angel and Aubergine to Verbena and Clary Sage, Violet and Black Pepper, there are many distinctive perfumes available in two jar sizes and three freestanding options. Furthermore, more than 94% of their ingredients come from the county of Lancashire, where they are based – supporting local business while keeping their carbon footprint to a minimum.

You know how there’s wax leftover whenever you’ve finished burning a candle? Well the clever chaps at The Recycled Candle Company go round collecting this seeming waste product from London churches, pubs and hotels then they recycle all the bits into beautiful new ones. Isn’t this the greatest recycling story that you’ve ever heard?!

Like this:

Welcome back to my regular series with suggestions of awesome people and things to check out, read, participate in and follow. Today’s post is an eclectic mix but I couldn’t resist any of these! There’s some ideal Sunday morning listening. As is common, there’s some fashion and beauty. There are also two links showcasing two very different women’s lives as well as a heartwarming example of community resistance from the New York subway. Finally, because I’ve realised I like to end with a funny video, there’s a great clip of a little girl and an Irish dancer. Enjoy!

Listen: Boat To Row

Boat To Row are an awesome band from my home town. They have a modern folksy town, with great instrumentation and lovely lyrics. Handily for this blog post, they are ideal Sunday morning listening. You can listen to them here.

Read: Different perspectives on fashion & beauty

Like so much good stuff in life, fashion and beauty are paradoxes: we should take them both less seriously and more seriously. Here are some links from both perspectives…

12 of the most fashionable films (my partner and I have decided to make Sunday night a film night so this has given me some examples that I definitely want to follow up).

Inspiration: two different women’s lives & a tale from the NYC subway

Last Sunday I spent the cold and grey afternoon curled up on the sofa watching the snooker (is there anything else on TV as relaxing? Even the commentary is whispered). I was excited to notice that the umpire of one of the matches was a woman. It’s always great to spot women at the top echelons of sport in any capacity, but it seemed particularly noteworthy because this was in a high level match between two men. I can’t imagine a woman referee at a Premier League football match or Six Nations rugby game. I looked her up and her name is Tatiana Woollaston. You can read her story here.

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